MongoDB is a NoSQL general-purpose document-oriented database that is free to use. It is a scalable, versatile NoSQL document database platform built to overcome the constraints of previous NoSQL solutions and the approach of relational databases. It helps the user store and deals with an enormous amount of data.
MongoDB’s horizontal scaling and load balancing capabilities have given application developers unprecedented flexibility and scalability. There are different MongoDB editions; however, we will focus on MongoDB Atlas in this article.
MongoDB Atlas is a multi-cloud database service created by the MongoDB team. Atlas makes it easy to deploy and manage databases while also giving users the flexibility they need to develop scalable, high-performance global applications on the cloud providers of their choice.
It is the world’s most popular cloud database for modern applications. Developers can use Atlas to deploy fully managed cloud databases on AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud. Developers can relax easily knowing that they have rapid access to the availability, scalability, and compliance they need for enterprise-level application development.
Major features of MongoDB Atlas
1. Easier scalability
Apps and systems must react to unanticipated needs and the company’s usual growth rate. MongoDB is a NoSQL database that allows for horizontal scalability via a technique known as sharding.
Through sharding technology, MongoDB Atlas provides horizontal database scalability to your enterprise. To boost performance, sharding divides vast databases into smaller segments. MongoDB has three built-in sharding methods:
Ranged sharding
Ranged sharding is generally used for applications that execute many range queries. Your data is divided into contiguous ranges based on the shard key value. For instance, if two documents share key values near one other, they will be in the same shard. Because of this arrangement, you do not have an equitable distribution of data saved on your servers.
Sharding with hashes
Rather than pulling a precise value, you are looking at a range of data. The data is evenly dispersed across the shards. The hash of the shard key value determines the location, which means that two documents with similar shard key values are unlikely to end up in the same shard.
For applications that write to the database often, hashed sharding makes the most sense. You can increase the shards to improve performance since read and write operations are evenly dispersed throughout this grouping.
Zone sharding
In this sharding, select a trait that governs the distribution of data. The terrestrial location of the data, hardware configuration, and various shard values or ranges are all typical characteristics. You can also associate a zone with many shards.
This strategy is helpful if you require your data sharded in a certain way to support your application’s operations. When your databases are scattered across many data centers, boosting data locality is an everyday use case.
MongoDB allows you to group shards to improve data availability and expand your database storage space.
2. Built-in automation features
MongoDB Atlas has Automation tools for database administration that help users gain a competitive advantage. The automation features include;
- Provisioning, setup, and configuration of hardware
- Upgrades and patches for software
- Disaster recovery and backups
3. Strong security measures
A company’s worst nightmare is a data breach. To protect this data, MongoDB Atlas employs a multilayered strategy. MongoDB Atlas has security features like authentication, authorization, encryption, and more. These features help prevent data breaches and improve security. Below are some of the significant features:
Authorization – RBAC (Role-based Access Control) allows users to configure the granular permissions that enable users or applications-based privileges needed to do their tasks.
Auditing is vital for regulatory compliance as it allows security admins to use MongoDB’s native audit log to record the given database changes and activities.
Authentication – MongoDB offers a viable, challenge-response solid mechanism that simplifies the database access control based on SCRAM-256 along with the integrated enterprise security infrastructure introduction. Also, some of the features you get are Windows Active Directory, x.509 certificates, LDAP, and Kerberos.
Everywhere Encryption – While in motion, MongoDB data can be encrypted across the networks, and while at rest, the data can be encrypted on disks or backups. Finally, while in use, the MongoDB data can be encrypted in the database
4. Extensive analytics and monitoring
The built-in tracking and monitoring functions provide valuable insights into the performance of your database.
Get real-time intuitions into your server clusters and set up personalized alerts, allowing you to fix issues before they affect performance or the end-user experience.
5. Atlas Data Lake
The most notable feature of MongoDB’s most recent release is a series of additional security improvements. Mongo now supports client-side Field Level Encryption with this release. Database security has traditionally relied on server-side trust. Even if they do not have client access, administrators usually have access to the data. If an assailant gains access to the server, it is nearly always a disaster.
Mongo transfers access to the client and local drivers with this new security approach. It offers a variety of encryption methods, which developers may access through a new “encrypt” JSON scheme parameter.
This assures that all application code runs unaltered, and even administrators will not have access to the database, logs, or backups unless they have client access permissions. Since the drivers handle the logic, the encryption is also handled separately from the database.
Users can query data on AWS S3 using the MongoDB Query Language, regardless of the format, including JSON, BSON, CSV, TSV, Parquet, and Avro. Users merely need to target the service at their current S3 buckets to get started.
6. Resources for technical assistance
There will be no more dealing with support and maintenance issues. This is what MongoDB Atlas takes care of for you. They will speak directly with the seller to figure out what is happening.
If one needs further help, the Atlas Pro and Atlas Enterprise service tiers provide end-to-end assistance directly from the MongoDB developers who created the database technology.
7.Realm + MongoDB Stitch
MongoDB Atlas will be connected via MongoDB’s serverless technology merger with Realm’s mobile database and synchronization platform. Data will now be able to move around the stack with ease.
8. Operational overhead should be reduced
Atlas does the heavy lifting for database provisioning, upkeep, and updates. If a node fails, Atlas chooses a new primary node and repairs or replaces the offline node to ensure ongoing availability. Using our UI or API, select the cluster configuration you want and deploy a new cluster or upgrade an existing cluster in minutes. Security patches and minor version upgrades are deployed automatically, and all updates are applied on a rolling basis across your deployment to minimize application performance effects.
Atlas also provides fully managed backup and restore services to ensure that your data is safe and accessible. Atlas makes it simple to restore your database to a given point in time, whether you’re trying out new ideas or making a fat-finger error. You can essentially create a near-zero Recovery Point Objective by simply defining your point-in-time restore window.
9. Spend less on infrastructure
It is always a good idea to rationalize your IT spending, but teams are much more cautious about where they spend their money in instances like this. Since not all applications will have a consistent workload in the short term, Atlas provides numerous alternatives for lowering the price of hosting a cloud database during lower traffic periods.
Like all other MongoDB Cloud offerings, Atlas is a consumption-based service, meaning one only pays for what he uses. Downscaling is as easy as making a single API call or a few clicks in our cluster configuration editor, and users can halt clusters for one month.
Customers will also benefit from recent adjustments to our most popular dedicated tiers, which increased connection limitations and maximum storage to memory ratios. We have reduced the price of NVMe clusters on AWS to make them more affordable for workloads that require low-latency, high-throughput IO.
Finally, the Performance Advisor is one of Atlas’ most popular services and is constantly improving. It generates index recommendations based on your database collections’ sluggish query logs, so you can enhance speed without being a MongoDB expert.
10. Data should be disseminated wisely
Atlas not only automates most elements of database deployment and management, but it also provides unique features for distributing your data and optimizing performance that other cloud database solutions do not have.
To ensure that your database is highly available by default, all Atlas clusters are deployed as a minimum three-node replica set and automatically distributed across availability zones. Add more nodes if you need more fault tolerance – Atlas is accessible in over 70 regions spanning AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud. You may also utilize Global Clusters to intelligently distribute data between zones to reach a global audience and provide a low-latency experience for your consumers, no matter where they are.
When picking the best cloud provider, most businesses go for the one that provides the most excellent services and tools for their specific needs. However, given the impact on global supply chains, including cloud resources, it may be time to reconsider your multi-cloud strategy. By allowing you to shift workloads between clouds effortlessly, Atlas helps you reduce risk and avoid cloud lock-in.
11. Database heavy lifting
Atlas may not be able to address all of your difficulties, but we hope that it will at the very least help you save time and money on database administration. MongoDB Atlas provides a hands-off experience while ensuring that your database performs what it needs to do, from intelligent automation to flexible billing and customizations.
Conclusion
MongoDB Atlas is a cutting-edge database used by both large and small businesses. It is, in fact, the most widely used NoSQL database. We hope you are now conversant with the features of MongoDB. They are vital since they can help you choose which database suits your project more. In case of any concerns, leave a remark in the comments section.
